The San Jose Sharks are set to face the Winnipeg Jets in the second half of a back-to-back on Sunday afternoon.
The Sharks defeated the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 yesterday in a massively important Pacific Division matchup, however they can't linger on that win for long, as they have another difficult opponent in Winnipeg. The Jets have had a major fall from grace this season, but Sharks coach Ryan Warsofsky knows not to underestimate their opponent.
"[The Jets are] still a really structured team," Warsofsky said pregame. "They're a big, heavy, physical team. Their forecheck is, analytically speaking, top-10 the league. They're going to create turnovers on the forecheck, so we've got to make sure that we're executing on our breakouts."
The Jets had a rough month in February, winning just one of their four games. Their sole win came against the Vancouver Canucks during their first game back from the Olympic break. The dynamic duo of Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor are as dangerous as ever though, Scheifele has 70 points in 57 games this season, while Connor has 67.
Warsofsky also noted there will only be one lineup change, which will come between the pipes as Alex Nedeljkovic will get the start for the Sharks. At the other end of the ice, unsurprisingly, it'll be Connor Hellebuyck in the net for Winnipeg.
For those in the Bay Area, the game will be available on NBC Sports California, while north of the border it'll be broadcast on TSN3 and TVA Sports.
Sharks Projected Lines (Per Max Miller):
Smith - Celebrini - Sherwood
Kurashev - Wennberg - Graf
Eklund - Misa - Toffoli
Regenda - Ostapchuk - Goodrow
Orlov - Klingberg
Ferraro - Mukhamadullin
Dickinson - Desharnais
Jets Projected Lines:
Connor - Scheifele - Vilardi
Perfetti - Lowry - Iafallo
Nyquist - Toews - Duehr
Koepke - Barron - Pearson
Stanley - Demelo
Samberg - Salomonsson
Fleury - Schenn